Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs which usually occurs as a result of an infection. If a person has pneumonia, the airways in their lungs become inflamed and fill with fluid, making it difficult to breathe.
Pneumonia starts with shivering fits, fever, pains in the chest and a dry cough that goes on to contain phlegm. Complications of pneumonia are more common in older people and include a build-up of fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion), severe breathing difficulties and spread of the infection to other parts of the body including the blood (septicaemia or blood poisoning).
Pneumonia can be serious and sometimes fatal. Anyone can get pneumonia – even the young and fit. However, older people are at greatest risk of infection and more likely to die as a result.
Pneumonia is also more common in people who smoke and people with breathing problems caused by respiratory conditions such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and asthma. Pneumonia can also affect people whose immune system is weakened such as those with HIV/AIDS and people suffering from chronic problems with their heart, liver, kidneys or diabetes. Pneumonia is also a common complication of flu.
The infection leading to pneumonia can be caused by a lot of different micro-organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Pneumonia is often referred to as being one of two main types; ‘community acquired pneumonia’ or ‘hospital acquired pneumonia’, depending on whether someone is infected while living at home (in the community) or while staying in hospital.
Half of all pneumonia cases are caused by bacteria, with the main cause of community acquired pneumonia being the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.